Composites fabricated of one or more layers of a woven or nonwoven fiber reinforcing a polymer matrix have found wide application in space, aeronautic, and other applications where the high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios of composites, along with their corrosion resistance and overall durability, offset the significantly higher cost of such materials over various metals such as steel and aluminum. However, since to achieve optimum performance in applications of composite components such as automobile bumpers or other components used for crash management, multiple layers of expensive reinforcing fabric, formed for example from glass or carbon fibers, are currently utilized, use for such applications has been very limited. In particular, while such use can result in components which are significantly lighter, permitting the vehicle on which they are utilized to achieve better gas mileage, have better corrosion resistance properties and greater durability than the comparable steel or aluminum components, and are at least as effective for crash management purposes, the automobile industry has been unwilling to incur the cost penalty in switching to such components.
A need therefore exists for a composite which can provide components with good crash management properties and which substantially retains the other advantageous properties of high performance composites, including desired strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios, as well as corrosion resistance and overall durability, while permitting the cost of the composite to be significantly reduced so as to make the use of such composites more attractive for use in crash management and other components. Costs would be further reduced, and the ecological corrections of the product improved, if at least some of the reinforcement could be provided by "waste" and/or recycled materials.